{"id":494,"date":"2020-04-08T22:21:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T22:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/printondemand\/?post_type=chapter&p=494"},"modified":"2020-06-19T22:18:59","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T22:18:59","slug":"what-is-pod","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/printondemand\/chapter\/what-is-pod\/","title":{"raw":"What Is Print on Demand?","rendered":"What Is Print on Demand?"},"content":{"raw":"\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Acorn.\"<\/td>\r\nPrint on demand is a service for which individual copies of a textbook can be printed as requested (on demand).\r\n<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nPrint on demand (PoD) is a service or process by which individual copies of a textbook or other resource that is usually available as a digital file can be printed upon request. This method allows publishers to provide books for a fixed cost per copy regardless of order size, be it one or one hundred copies. Prior to the digital age, most information was available in books that were printed by publishers in large (and expensive) allotments using offset printing.[footnote]\u201cOffset Printing,\u201d Wikipedia, last modified April 17, 2020, https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Offset_printing.[\/footnote] The idea of requesting \u2014 and printing \u2014 a single copy of a book was unheard of.\r\n\r\nThe PoD model began in the 1990s as digital press technology \u2014 as well as printing and binding methods \u2014 developed and improved, allowing publishers to retreat from printing large runs of books and then dealing with unsold copies.[footnote]Edmund Chamberlain, \u201cInvestigating Faster Techniques for Digitization and Print-on-Demand,\u201d New Review of Academic Librarianship<\/em> 18, no. 1 (2012): 64, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13614533.2012.660769.[\/footnote] Replacing the standard large-book-inventory method with on-demand book printing afforded publishers other savings, too, including a reduction in storage costs, less labour needed for handling inventory, and lower inventory management fees. In 2008, UBC Press \u2014 Canada's third largest university press[footnote]\u201cAbout UBC Press,\u201d About Us, UBC Press, accessed April 8, 2020, http:\/\/www.ubcpress.ca\/about-us.[\/footnote] \u2014 began using the print-on-demand and short-run digital printing models as part of its workflow to keep book inventory at workable levels.[footnote]Sara Xue Ying Chang, \u201cA Case Study of Print on Demand and Short-Run Digital Printing at the University of British Columbia Press\u201d (master's project report, Simon Fraser University, 2017), https:\/\/summit.sfu.ca\/item\/17530.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nWhile the price of each print-on-demand copy is typically higher than those produced with offset printing, the average PoD cost is<\/em> lower for small print runs because setup costs for digital printing \u2014 including technical configuration \u2014 are much lower than those for offset printing. This advantage not only reduces the publisher's risks, but also leads to more choices for the consumer, such as the ability to order a discrete, professionally produced book. Still, less publisher liability can also mean lower quality control of the printed book.[footnote]\u201cPrint on Demand,\u201d Wikipedia, last modified April 26, 2020, https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Print_on_demand.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nNevertheless, the PoD model aligns well with open textbooks. For instructors who take full advantage of the open-copyright licence (the tool that makes a textbook open<\/em>) by customizing the book to suit their teaching methods and curricula; updating it regularly to keep the material current; and\/or inviting students to contribute to the book as part of a course assignment (in line with open pedagogical practice), printing textbooks on demand is the ideal way to go.","rendered":"\n\n\n
\"Acorn.\"<\/td>\nPrint on demand is a service for which individual copies of a textbook can be printed as requested (on demand).
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Print on demand (PoD) is a service or process by which individual copies of a textbook or other resource that is usually available as a digital file can be printed upon request. This method allows publishers to provide books for a fixed cost per copy regardless of order size, be it one or one hundred copies. Prior to the digital age, most information was available in books that were printed by publishers in large (and expensive) allotments using offset printing.[1]<\/sup><\/a> The idea of requesting \u2014 and printing \u2014 a single copy of a book was unheard of.<\/p>\n

The PoD model began in the 1990s as digital press technology \u2014 as well as printing and binding methods \u2014 developed and improved, allowing publishers to retreat from printing large runs of books and then dealing with unsold copies.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Replacing the standard large-book-inventory method with on-demand book printing afforded publishers other savings, too, including a reduction in storage costs, less labour needed for handling inventory, and lower inventory management fees. In 2008, UBC Press \u2014 Canada’s third largest university press[3]<\/sup><\/a> \u2014 began using the print-on-demand and short-run digital printing models as part of its workflow to keep book inventory at workable levels.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

While the price of each print-on-demand copy is typically higher than those produced with offset printing, the average PoD cost is<\/em> lower for small print runs because setup costs for digital printing \u2014 including technical configuration \u2014 are much lower than those for offset printing. This advantage not only reduces the publisher’s risks, but also leads to more choices for the consumer, such as the ability to order a discrete, professionally produced book. Still, less publisher liability can also mean lower quality control of the printed book.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the PoD model aligns well with open textbooks. For instructors who take full advantage of the open-copyright licence (the tool that makes a textbook open<\/em>) by customizing the book to suit their teaching methods and curricula; updating it regularly to keep the material current; and\/or inviting students to contribute to the book as part of a course assignment (in line with open pedagogical practice), printing textbooks on demand is the ideal way to go.<\/p>\n

Media Attributions<\/h2>